Q 01/05

Which country was the first to introduce state retirement benefits, in 1889?

A) Germany

B) Britain

C) France

D) United States

Answer · why

A) Germany

Otto von Bismarck's scheme originally set the pension age at 70, when few workers lived that long.

Q 02/05

What was the original retirement age under Bismarck's 1889 German pension law?

A) 55

B) 70

C) 60

D) 65

Answer · why

B) 70

It was cut to 65 in 1916, the figure many countries then copied.

Q 03/05

Which Roman emperor is credited with the first recorded state pension, for army veterans, in 13 BC?

A) Julius Caesar

B) Nero

C) Augustus

D) Trajan

Answer · why

C) Augustus

Legionaries had to serve 16 years plus four in the reserves to qualify, later raised to 20 and five.

Q 04/05

Which US president signed the Social Security Act on August 14, 1935?

A) Herbert Hoover

B) Harry Truman

C) Woodrow Wilson

D) Franklin D. Roosevelt

Answer · why

D) Franklin D. Roosevelt

The 37-page act also created unemployment insurance and aid to dependent children.

Q 05/05

Ida May Fuller of Vermont was the first person to receive what, in 1940?

A) A monthly Social Security cheque

B) An employer 401(k) match

C) An AARP membership card

D) A Medicare insurance card

Answer · why

A) A monthly Social Security cheque

She had paid just $24.75 in Social Security taxes over three years and lived to be 100, collecting for 35 years.